AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Rangers Get It Done in One Against Twins

Juan Gonzalez hit a grand slam and a run-scoring single during an 11-run first inning that included three homers for the Texas Rangers, who went on to defeat the Minnesota Twins, 12-5, Monday night at Arlington, Texas.

“We’ve talked about scoring early and what it means to your ballclub,” Ranger Manager Johnny Oates said. “If you could write a script, that’s the way you’d have it every night.”

Gonzalez’s five runs batted in in an inning were one short of the major league record accomplished 11 times, most recently by Boston’s Carlos Quintana in 1991.

Rusty Greer had a three-run homer and Benji Gil hit a solo shot as the Rangers sent 15 batters to the plate against rookie pitchers Scott Klingenbeck and reliever Oscar Munoz.

The post-1900 major league record for runs in an inning is 17 by the Boston Red Sox in 1953 in the seventh against Detroit.

Oakland 13, New York 4--Geronimo Berroa homered, tripled and drove in three runs as the Athletics scored 10 runs in the first two innings to beat the error-prone Yankees at Oakland.

The Athletics scored six unearned runs while batting around in each of the first two innings. Every A’s starter had a hit by the second inning.

Milwaukee 3-9, Kansas City 1-18--Johnny Damon hit a bases-loaded triple in an 11-run fourth inning at Milwaukee that led the Royals past the Brewers for a split of their doubleheader.

The 11 runs, all of them earned, tied a club record and were the most ever given up in one inning by the Brewers.

Milwaukee won the opener when Angel Miranda earned his first major league save by getting Jon Nunnally to hit into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.

Jeff Cirillo hit two homers in the second game for the Brewers, but that could not make up for Kansas City’s big inning.

Greg Gagne, who had four hits, tied a club record with two hits in the 11-run inning. He hit a two-run triple off reliever Michael Ignasiak, who gave up seven earned runs on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Cleveland 7, Toronto 3--Paul Sorrento homered and drove in four runs at Toronto as the Indians won their fourth in a row.

Orel Hershiser (11-5) pitched seven innings, giving up three runs while striking out eight and walking none. He is 4-0 in his last five starts and 6-2 since coming off the disabled list July 7.

Sorrento had an RBI double during a four-run second inning, made it 6-0 in the third with his 20th homer, a two-run shot, and singled home a run in the ninth. Albert Belle extended his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games.

Chicago 7, Detroit 3--Robin Ventura singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and homered in the ninth, leading the White Sox at Detroit.

Alex Fernandez (8-8) improved to 5-1 lifetime at Tiger Stadium and Kirk McCaskill got his second save. Mike Moore (5-13) lost his eighth consecutive decision.

Cecil Fielder hit his 25th homer, highlighting a three-run sixth that put Detroit ahead, 3-1.

Seattle 6, Baltimore 0--Randy Johnson struck out 10 in six innings and Jay Buhner’s two-run single ignited a five-run seventh as the Mariners beat the Orioles at Seattle.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his second home run in two games since coming off the disabled list. The solo drive, his ninth, came in the eighth off Scott Erickson.

The Mariners lifted Johnson after he made 118 pitches, and reliever Jeff Nelson (4-1) wound up with the victory. They combined to shut out the Orioles on seven hits.

Johnson was removed from the game because the Mariners are keeping a close watch on the number of pitches the ace of their staff makes. He missed a turn Aug. 6 because of left shoulder stiffness.

Johnson allowed four hits and walked three, and raised his major league-leading strikeout total to 222.